Last week, comedian and prankster, Simon Brodkin, handed Theresa May a piece of paper with “P45” written in large print at the top of the page. But what is a P45 and what is the connection with leaving your post?

The new tax year, starting on 6th April, will see the introduction of the apprenticeship levy, a government measure that comes in two halves. The first half revolves around the word ‘levy’ and involves calculating, paying and reporting a tax based on the amount you pay your employees. The second half concerns the word ‘apprenticeship’ and covers how the money, once paid, can be used to fund apprentices. As I’m in the business of calculating and reporting payroll taxes, I’ll focus on the first half of this measure, concerning the word ‘levy’.Read more A Levy for the Apprentice

As the Academy Awards demonstrated this week, things don’t always go to plan. On 15th December, Scotland’s finance secretary Derek Mackay delivered the draft budget for 2017/18, in which he proposed a higher rate tax threshold of £43,430. In Scotland, as in the rest of the UK, government budget declarations don’t carry the weight of an executive order but must be agreed by a vote of the relevant parliament, where the best-laid plans of mice and ministers go oft awry.

On the 25th January, many of us with a claim to Scottish ancestry use the birthday of Robert Burns as an excuse to join friends for some poetry and to eat haggis with neeps and tatties. I had a Scottish great-grandfather, making me Scottish up to the ankles, if not the shins. You may, like me, be a fraction Scottish but as far as your Income Tax is concerned, it’s either Scottish, or it isna.

Around this time of year, lots of small business owners are doing their self assessment tax returns – in case you haven’t heard, the deadline is 31st January.

Often, even in simple cases with no other income, the self-assessment calculation comes out a pound or two different from the figures on the P60. In week 53 cases (which I’ll explain later) the difference can be significantly higher. The obvious question is, which is right?